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Monday, June 1, 2015

Chapter Seven covers the time in Bishop’s life from when she
arrived in Brazil
to her death. I felt far less confident writing about Bishop’s experiences in Brazil than
anywhere else. What did I know about Brazil? But one of the things I did
see in her letters, memoirs and poems written in and about Brazil was that her earliest years
resurfaced and echoed in her experiences there. When I finally went to Brazil, even though for only a brief visit, I
could see instantly why that place, seemingly so far from Nova
Scotia and New England, resonated
with her and reminded her of her childhood.

I can’t imagine that I would ever have gone to Brazil were it
not for Elizabeth Bishop. And for Brett Millier who so kindly invited me to be
part of the panel she was setting up for the Bishop conference that took place
in Ouro Prêto in 1999. Brett wrote a wonderful letter of support which helped
me secure travel funding from the Province
of Nova Scotia. Though
now over fifteen years ago, I still have vivid memories of that trip, and
occasionally still tell stories about it. Going there was an honour and
privilege for which I will always be grateful.

In Ouro Prêto, I stayed at the Pousada Casa Grande, a pleasant
little inn on the road to Mariana, not all that far from Bishop’s “Casa
Mariana.” Here is the view from the window of my room with Itacolomy in the
distance.

We attended a garden party at Casa Mariana where we all took
photos of each other (it was long before “selfies” existed!). Here is a photo
of me with Laura Menides (my room mate during that trip, on the left) and our dear friend
Michiru Tsubura (centre). Michiru presented the most delightful “musical biography” of
Elizabeth Bishop in the gorgeous baroque opera house in this astonishing city.

After the conference many of us went to see Lota’s house at
Samambaia near Petropolis, and, of course, Bishop’s studio there. Many things astonished me on
this trip (I suspect I was in a state of constant astonishment, like Bishop’s state of
“constant re-adjustment,” for the entire time), but the massive granite
escarpment soaring above the grounds of the house at Samambaia was
astonishingly breathtaking.

There were many grand moments (the beach in Rio, for example), but some of the most
memorable were the tiny, often brief encounters with something (for example, coming
upon a white horse standing quietly on a cobbled street in Tiradentes, early in
the morning when the mist was heavy and everything was still). One of the most
memorable moments for me was seeing a small sculpture done by Aleijadinho of a
mother and child reading. It was in a glass case in a museum in Mariana and it
cut right through my astonishment and spoke about the way we are all connected.
It triggered a little poem.

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John Barnstead

I retired in 2014 after forty years of teaching Russian language and literature. I'm a past president of the Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia.

Sandra Barry

I am a poet, independent scholar, freelance editor, and secretary of the Elizabeth Bishop Society of Nova Scotia.

Suzie LeBlanc

I am a professional singer who recently became a great admirer of Elizabeth Bishop's writing. I am also fond of walking and nature and I became involved with the Elizabeth Bishop Centenary because I wanted to have her poems set to music so that I could sing them.